Navigation Chart
Week of May 16-22, 2016
OUR WORK IS ALMOST DONE!
Key Action 1
Key Action 2
Kiest Elementary will improve the quality of instruction for ALL Scholars by increasing rigor and engagement.
Key Action 3
Kiest Elementary will maintain a positive culture and climate for Scholars, Parents, and Staff.
LET'S FINISH STRONG!
Team, with only few weeks of school left, many of you might feel like you are about to collapse. You are tired, the weather is warming up and you can almost touch the sense of joy for summer vacation. As we work long hours and managing scholars that are restless in their seats, this is the time to think that we must finish the crossing line, and we must finish strong.
With another testing week approaching, let's inspire scholars by telling them how well they are prepared to face the task at hand, because they had great teachers by their side.
We had faced many challenges this year, and those that are yet to come will be faced with courage and confidence. Learning will continue in the classroom, just as you have done all year long. Instead of focusing on your exhaustion and going into a "survival shift", this is the time to stay united, lift up our heads and pick up the pace. As we pick up the pace, we are not only going to finish, but we are going to finish strong!
Thank you for your perseverance and support. Let's make it a great week!!
AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE CLASSROOMS
Ms. Quintero's PK
Musical Engagement
Inherited and Learned Traits
DISTRICT CLIMATE SURVEY IS AVAILABLE NOW THROUGH MAY 20
# of Staff who completed survey (33) - # of Kiest Staff (77) - % Complepted 42.86%
The District would like to know how things are going at Kiest. Follow the link emailed to you to complete the Spring Climate Survey. Please remember to respond to each question as it applies to your own beliefs and actions, even when the question is being asked as a third person. Our goal is to have 100% of the teachers responding positively. "Avoid Neutral responses". Let's show the District and the whole community that Kiest Elementary is a great campus and we are all proud of our teachers!
NOTE: All grade team leaders please ensure that all the teachers on each grade level complete the survey.
Proud to be a Kiest ALL STARS!
SUMMER LEARNING FOR TEACHERS
Teachers, we will have formal conversations around strengths and growth areas. We want to ensure that you leave for the summer knowing what you are going to attend this summer.
https://www.smore.com/app/reporting/out/rebh3?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dallasisd.org%2FPage%2F41528&t=CLICK
HERE FOR THE P2LD SUMMER CATALOG!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10A3SWnGxd3XsT0WOBjmnewJzaZas9TUG84TiGBBHWl8/edit
Individualized PD Planning Document
CLICK HERE FOR THE SUMMER PD AGREEMENT!
TEI IMPORTANT NEWS
Student Learning Objective
The Student Learning Objective Goal-Accomplishment window is open on Schoolnet. If you have the data for your end-of-year assessment, you can enter it into SchoolNet now. TEI provided links to a Quick Reference Card and the rubric. The deadline to complete this is May 19.
MAY 19th is also the last day to enter extended observations and summatives in Schoolnet.
Roster Verification
In May, teachers will verify their rosters in order to verify the students that will be included in the calculation of their student achievement results. The deadline for teachers to submit rosters is May 25 at 5:00 pm. Principals have until June 10 to approve submitted rosters.
May 23-June 6 will be the teacher rebuttal window in oracle for summative performance evaluations.
June 2 is the last day to conduct spot observations and the last day to hold the summative conferences.
How to Stay Charged During the Final Weeks of School
By Elena Aguilar- edutopia.org. N.p., 26 May 2009. Web. 15 May 2016
The Big Test is over. The long weekend is over. You're way beyond burned out and thinking mostly about summer. You can't figure out how you're going to get through the next few weeks, or how you could keep doing this year after year.
You're probably also on a bit of an emotional roller coaster, an end-of-the-year teacher phenomenon. One minute, you connect with a kid, notice her progress, and feel proud of what you know you've accomplished. And then the student who drove you crazy all year pushes a button you didn't even know you had and you say to yourself something terrible about him, something no "good teacher" should ever say. And then Juanita's mother comes to pick her up and she takes your hands and thanks you for helping her daughter learn to read.
So, you'll come back next year, and you already have ideas of what you will do differently. And, if you're a first-year teacher, you've heard that year two is "so much easier." But the classroom is a mess, your desk has disappeared under piles of papers you'll never get to, and the kids will be back at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
Here are some tips to help you survive these final weeks:
Get into a project you've wanted to do all year. Gently put aside pacing guides and textbooks, and take out the art supplies, construction materials, music, food, and novels. Do something hands on, project based, and fun. They'll get into anything you're passionate about. You'll have the energy to get through the days.
But don't abandon all the routines and structures you've used all year. Kids of all ages need those routines to continue. If you start showing movies all day, every day, or have a whole lot of parties, kids are likely to get a little wacky.
Give kids time and tools to reflect on their school year. They can write, make scrapbooks, record a video piece, or create drawings. Prompt them to think about what they learned, how they learned, what was challenging, how they dealt with those challenges, what they feel proud of, how they changed, what advice they have for kids entering that grade next year, and so on. You'll need to provide a lot of scaffolding for this activity, model the process, and have them share their pieces as they develop them.
Give yourself time to reflect. Read all their reflections, and talk to the kids about what they've learned and how they have changed. Answer the same questions you ask kids to reflect on. It's critical that you see how you changed, where you have grown, and what you learned. You did grow -- and you learned a whole lot. The biggest mistake we make is not taking the time to recognize and acknowledge that.
Celebrate with your students and their parents, with your colleagues, and with your loved ones. With students, you can have a kind of awards ceremony where every kid is honored for something positive. This approach provides an opportunity for kids to recognize each other and themselves. You need to help them wrap up their year, giving them closure and a sense of accomplishment.
Accepting the Situation
For many kids, summer is not a good time. It's a time when their structures and routines fall apart, the most predicable people in their lives -- their teachers and classmates -- are absent, and the boredom can be numbing. Most of the students I've taught, between second grade and eighth grades, confess that they don't really like summer.
Sure, they like being able to wake up late and watch TV all day, but that gets old after a while. For some students, summer can be even be a time of fear, hunger, and loneliness. For middle school students, it can be an unsupervised time when their growing bodies get into trouble.
And so, in the classroom, you might see the more challenging students get even more challenging. They regress and become more needy and clingy, or obnoxious, which leads you to putting up more boundaries, often making them even more challenging.
Rally your strength. Access all your empathetic powers. Sleep extra hours. Get exercise. They really need you now, so try to enjoy the time with them and have fun; the year will end.
What are your plans for the next few weeks? What might you like to try, or do differently?
Itinerary ~ Week of May 16-21, 2016
Computer Lab for 3rd/4th Graders 7:15AM Daily
Monday 5.16 Announcements KE
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
Academic Facilitators visit campus
SBDM EOY Meeting @ 1:30PM
Beach Club 3:00 PM
Tuesday 5.17 Announcements this Week KE
Happy Birthday Ms. Ajaga & Ms. Ramirez!
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
Team Leaders EOY Meeting – 2:30PM
Wednesday 5.18 Announcements This Week KE
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
K-1 Math ACP
Tutoring all Tier 3 students and retentions
Thursday 5.19 Announcements This Week KE
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
K-1 Reading ACP
Tutoring all Tier 3 students and retentions
Lesson Plans due by 6:00PM
Friday 5.20 Announcements This Week KE
Happy Birthday Ms. Loera!
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
3-5 Social Studies ACP
Lemonade with the Principal – 1:30PM
Notes: During ACP Testing, let’s monitor our scholars and ensure that they bubble in all their answers. Please refer to the May Calendar for this month’s events
Edwin J. Kiest Elementary
Email: yacruz@dallasisd.org
Website: dallasisd.org/kiest
Location: 2611 Healey Drive, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: (972) 502-5600